Woman, 71, accused of hitting husband with hammer

BURNSVILLE, Minn. - A Burnsville woman is accused of assaulting her husband with a hammer and tying a phone cord around his neck.

Sharon Ripka, 71, was charged in Dakota County courts with attempted domestic assault by strangulation, making terroristic threats and interfering with an emergency call.

According to the criminal complaint, the Burnsville Police Department received a call on February 18 from a woman stating she was "tired of her husband punching and assaulting her" and that she hit him with a hammer.

When officers arrived at the home, the victim was staggering and covered in blood. He also had a telephone cord wrapped around his neck. According to the complaint, he told police, "She just went nuts."

The complaint says that the victim reported Ripka "struck him repeatedly with a telephone when he tried to contact police," and tried to strangle him with a telephone cord by wrapping it around his neck. The victim said Ripka came out of the bathroom with a toilet paper roll and wiped excrement on his face. He also said Ripka struck him in the head with a hammer.

According to the complaint, the victim told police he believes Ripka is mentally ill and has dementia, though she's never been formally diagnosed because she refuses to go to the doctor.

The victim suffered a large bruise to his scalp. As emergency crews were treating his wounds, he said, "I'm going to die" and "she's killing me."

Ripka was taken into custody. She exercised her right to remain silent and has not provided a statement to police.

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